Former Baylor Receiver Levi Norwood Helping Give Back to Athletes After Playing Career

For the first time, the 2013 and 2014 Big 12 Championship teams will be formally honored on Saturday as the Bears take on rival TCU at McLane Stadium.

In an interview with SicEm365, former all-conference wide receiver and kick/punt returner Levi Norwood discussed his eagerness to return to Waco and celebrate the winningest two years in program history. During those two seasons, Baylor compiled a 22-4 record and won back-to-back conference crowns.

"It's exciting to come back," he said. "I'm looking forward to coming together as a team and seeing guys that I haven't seen since 2015. I'm excited to see what guys are doing now, meet their families and just be able to hang out."

As an upper-classman, Levi was a key member of an extremely talented wide receiver group that included former Bear greats such as Corey Coleman, Antwan Goodley, Tevin Reese, Jay Lee and KD Cannon. Levi is currently 17th all-time in program history in career receptions (128) and 18th in receiving yards (1,626).

When asked about the identity of those Baylor teams, Levi immediately said, "Fast is the first thing that comes to mind." He jokingly added, "I was by far the slowest receiver, but I'd like to think that I'm not slow."

Dallas Morning News

"It's exciting to come back," former Baylor WR Levi Norwood said about this weekend’s formal honoring of the 2013 and 2014 Big 12 Championship teams.

"The skill position rooms we had were better than whoever we lined up against across the board," he said. "That's probably something a lot of teams don't always feel, and we felt that way every single time we stepped on the field."

During his playing career, one of the games that sticks out the most was when the Bears clinched their first Big 12 Championship in 2013 against No. 25 Texas. It was also the final game in the 64-year history of Floyd Casey Stadium.

"Going into that game, all of us felt like we knew what the result was going to be," Levi said. "We didn't feel like there was a chance we'd lose that game. Seeing the lights turn off and knowing that we were moving into the new stadium and closing Floyd Casey the way we did was a surreal feeling."

In his five seasons at Baylor, Levi was part of the winningest class in program history, was part of a school-record five straight bowl teams and won back-to-back conference titles.

"It was cool to see it all come to fruition," Levi said. "I remember when I was a junior or senior in high school, and that's what Coach [Art] Briles and Coach Kaz [Kazadi] were breaking out huddles on. At that point, they knew that wouldn't happen in 2009, but they had the foresight to see what they were building. Being part of what was being built and being part of the end result, which was literally a new stadium, was really cool."

However, the most memorable moments from Levi's playing days came off the field with his dad, Brian, an assistant coach for the Bears from 2008 to 2014.

"The thing I always look back on is pregames," Levi said. "I'm a big candy fiend, so I'd be sitting on the bench with some candy, and my dad would normally come down and sit with me. We'd talk about life for 10 or 15 minutes and share whatever candy I had that day. We'd hug each other, say 'good luck' and then get ready for the game."

Athletics is a family affair in the Norwood family. 

Levi's older brother, Gabe, was a member of the underdog George Mason team that advanced to the 2006 Final Four. His other older brother, Jordan, played wide receiver at Penn State and wore No. 24 for the Nittany Lions; he went on to play in the NFL for eight seasons and won a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos in 2016.

Levi's grandfather, who paved the way for the entire family, grew up in the nation's capital and was a huge fan of the Washington Redskins eight-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Charley Taylor, who famously donned the No. 42 for the Burgundy and Gold.

Wanting to pay homage to both his grandfather’s favorite player and his brother, Levi repped No. 42 throughout his playing career at Baylor.

"Some people remember it, and people will ask me, 'Why are you wearing that ugly number to play receiver and return punts?' My answer is because of the question you just asked me. You remember it because it was ugly," he said with a smirk.

Levi added that his favorite current Bear is redshirt junior wide receiver Josh Cameron, who's paving his own way and climbing the record books as an elite punt returner for Baylor this fall. 

"I think the ugly number does it," he said, laughing. "The No. 34 and the No. 42, that's why he's my favorite player."

Cameron is currently atop the Big 12 and second in the nation in average yards per punt return (22.42). Meanwhile, Levi remains toward the top of the program leaderboards in punt return yardage and holds a Baylor record for punts returned for a touchdown in a single season (2).

Midway through high school, Levi's life was uprooted when his family moved from Central Pennsylvania to Waco, Texas, after his dad took a job on the Baylor coaching staff.

Initially, he had planned on following in the footsteps of his older brother and playing for the Nittany Lions but eventually realized the ramifications if we were to play over 1,400 miles away from his family’s new home in Central Texas.

"If I would have gone to Penn State, my dad would have never seen me play," he said. "That realization came through after signing with Penn State that this key figure in my life would never be able to watch me play a game because we're both playing on Saturdays."

Levi, who grew up around college athletics, didn't want to be separated from his dad and the rest of his family and decided to play at Baylor. Levi knew he wanted to play at the next level from a young age, but Brian never forced that upon him.

Baylor Athletics

Levi Norwood is currently 17th all-time in program history in career receptions (128) and 18th in receiving yards (1,626).

"My dad set the tone that this is something that we had the option to do or the capability of doing," Levi said. "It was always encouraging whether it was sports or if I was trying to play the trombone in fifth grade, which I was garbage at, he was going to encourage me."

Funny enough, when Brian was the defensive backs coach at Texas Tech in 2000, he had one of his graduate assistants take care of Levi and his siblings for the day.

"I don't know if this was like my dad telling his GAs, 'If you want to be a dad one day, you need some practice, so here, take my kids to the movies,' or what the deal was," Levi said, laughing.

The graduate assistant was none other than current Baylor head coach Dave Aranda. Levi didn't learn about the trip to the movies until he met Aranda shortly after he took over at the helm for BU in 2020. When he asked his dad about it, Brian amazingly confirmed the story.

Coming out of high school, Levi was a dual sport athlete. He loved playing basketball and even suited up for Scott Drew's Bears in 2010, albeit shortly. To this day, Levi still prefers hoops over football and plays pick-up basketball as much as he can. When he was in graduate school in 2017, he would pop over to the Ferrell Center and play on the scout team during practice.

"I loved my short time spent on the basketball team," Levi said, smiling. "I played two minutes and have one career point that I hold near and dear to my heart."

Sports is a way of life for Levi and the entire Norwood family. Since leaving graduate school, he's bounced around, working in various places where he can still be around athletics but where he knows he can also make a difference.

"Working in sports is huge for me, and I get that from my dad," Levi said. "That's why he has coached for 30-plus years. He wants to impact young men and get them ready for whatever they step into after playing. I've also taken that passion into everything I've done."

He went on to say, "Even if I were completely removed from sports, I'd still be watching on Saturdays and playing pick-up. Working in sports is where I know I can impact people's lives and where I know people could use someone like me to help them with that impact. It's the space that I'm supposed to be in."

From 2019-2023, Levi worked at Uplifting Athletes, a non-profit dedicated to spreading awareness for people affected and impacted by rare diseases. He currently works at Influxer, a company committed to making NIL available to student-athletes from all backgrounds.

"There are junior college athletes and Division I athletes who don't have 30,000 Instagram followers, or they may not play at all, but we have NIL merchandise where their mom, grandmother or whoever can still support them," he said. "There's a space for everyone in the NIL landscape, and we try to make that a reality for any student-athlete."

As Levi looks to continue making a mark in people's lives off the field, he is forever grateful for the people he met and the opportunities he was given in Waco.

"The impact that Baylor has had on me has set me up for success after playing," he said. "I try and get back pretty often and make connections with professors that I had. I still have relationships with coaches and administration that I stay in contact with, and then the network of friends and teammates that are like family to me now."

Levi and the rest of the members of the 2013 and 2014 Big 12 Championship teams will be honored at half-time of the Baylor-TCU game this Saturday at McLane Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will be televised on ESPN2.